As a big game hunting guide in the United States, I am blessed to hunt different ecosystems from desert mountains to arctic tundra. Equally as impressive as the ecosystems I guide in are the people I get to guide. I love taking new people out and showing them the country that I dedicated my life getting to know. Once in a while a client of mine will invite me to come to their home and hunt with them. For years I would pass up these invitations. I eventually realized that I was passing up opportunities to learn and explore so one day I said yes. I was guiding a hunter from France and she asked me if I would be interested in hunting chamois in the Alps. Since I guide a lot of sheep and goat hunts in the mountains of Alaska, this hunt was right up my alley. I love mountain hunting more than anything else. I told my client Charlotte that I was in.
January came and I was really excited for France. The travel from the US wasn't too bad. The ten hour flight over the ocean was a little rough since I'm a big guy and they don't make airplanes for guys that are 6'-3". All of my luggage made the flight and I was picked up at the airport by my friend and client Charlotte. After about an hour drive, we were comfortable at the settlement and ready to hunt in the morning.
The first morning we drove up the mountain and parked before sunrise. We hiked up a trail for a mile or so as the sun came up to expose the high rocky peaks of the French Alps. I was amazed at the views that we were to behold. Thick fog covered the canyon floor below us. We were well above the fog surrounded by nothing but bluebird skies and magnificent mountain peaks. I was at home in a foreign country. It didn't take long and my sightseeing came to and end when we spotted the first chamois of the day. It was a decent male and we looked at him for a while, but we decided that we would keep looking since it was so early in the hunt. We didn't want to be done in the first hour of the first day.
After seeing a few more females with young ones at their side, we hiked into a new area where we could see a lot of chamois country. As soon as we set up to start glassing, my guide spotted a really nice male chamois right below us in the fog. The lone beast was about 400 yards below us. We had the fog and elevation on our side. We took the next half hour sneaking down the hill. We helped each other off ledges passing the rifle back and forth and catching loose rocks so they would not tumble down the hill and blow our cover. Slowly we descended into easy rifle range. We reached a ledge 100 yards above the chamois and as we were setting up for a shot, he was alerted to our presence. He stood up and looked our way, but it was too late. The 7mm Mag hit its mark and the hunt was over. I had successfully harvested a silver medal alpine chamois in France.
The whole trip was amazing! The food, the people, the mountains, the animals... all of it was simply amazing. I got to experience a lot of new on this trip. I learned a ton and made memories that I will have forever. Most importantly I made friends with a group of hunters on the other side of the world. This was just my first trip to France. It wouldn't be my last.
January came and I was really excited for France. The travel from the US wasn't too bad. The ten hour flight over the ocean was a little rough since I'm a big guy and they don't make airplanes for guys that are 6'-3". All of my luggage made the flight and I was picked up at the airport by my friend and client Charlotte. After about an hour drive, we were comfortable at the settlement and ready to hunt in the morning.
The first morning we drove up the mountain and parked before sunrise. We hiked up a trail for a mile or so as the sun came up to expose the high rocky peaks of the French Alps. I was amazed at the views that we were to behold. Thick fog covered the canyon floor below us. We were well above the fog surrounded by nothing but bluebird skies and magnificent mountain peaks. I was at home in a foreign country. It didn't take long and my sightseeing came to and end when we spotted the first chamois of the day. It was a decent male and we looked at him for a while, but we decided that we would keep looking since it was so early in the hunt. We didn't want to be done in the first hour of the first day.
After seeing a few more females with young ones at their side, we hiked into a new area where we could see a lot of chamois country. As soon as we set up to start glassing, my guide spotted a really nice male chamois right below us in the fog. The lone beast was about 400 yards below us. We had the fog and elevation on our side. We took the next half hour sneaking down the hill. We helped each other off ledges passing the rifle back and forth and catching loose rocks so they would not tumble down the hill and blow our cover. Slowly we descended into easy rifle range. We reached a ledge 100 yards above the chamois and as we were setting up for a shot, he was alerted to our presence. He stood up and looked our way, but it was too late. The 7mm Mag hit its mark and the hunt was over. I had successfully harvested a silver medal alpine chamois in France.
The whole trip was amazing! The food, the people, the mountains, the animals... all of it was simply amazing. I got to experience a lot of new on this trip. I learned a ton and made memories that I will have forever. Most importantly I made friends with a group of hunters on the other side of the world. This was just my first trip to France. It wouldn't be my last.
